CALGARY- After years of commuter chaos, traffic headaches and an inflated project cost, the west LRT is finally set to open.
The new eight kilometer leg of the CTrain connects the far west side of the city with downtown. It stretches from 7 Avenue all the way up to 69 Street S.W., and includes six new stations-including the city’s first underground and raised CTrain platforms.
The route crosses 11th Street S.W. and follows Bow Trail to 33rd Street, where it heads south then travels west along 17th Avenue until it ends at 69 Street.
Back in May, it was revealed that the cost of the project had ballooned to $35 million dollars over budget, and the total cost is believed to be around $1.6 billion dollars.
It will serve a growing area of the city, which is expected to be home to 120,000 people in the next 15 years. Employment in the area is also expected to jump from 18,000 to 23,000.
A family-friendly celebration will be held on Saturday to mark the west LRT opening, with activities, food and entertainment spanning from downtown to 69 Street S.W.
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The event kicks off at 10 a.m. with speeches at the new West-Kerby station downtown. The station marks the completion of the 7 Avenue LRT Refurbishment Project which saw all stations in the core expanded to fit four-car trains.
An official ribbon-breaking is set for 10:45 a.m. at the 69 Street Station, then at 11:15 a.m. Premier Redford and Mayor Nenshi will officially open the line with festivities at the new Ernest Manning High School.
There will also be free hot chocolate and giveaways from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at each of the new stations and at the high school.
Free shuttles will be available every 15 minutes to take passengers from downtown to the end of the new leg, with free CTrain service along the route from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information on the project and celebrations, click here.
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